


Find Me Somebody To Love || Jimercury Week 2021

by AnironSidh



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Blind Date, Broken Bones, Cast - Freeform, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Ficlet Collection, First Dates, Genderbending, Growing Old, Growing Old Together, Idiots in Love, Jimercury Week, M/M, Memories, Moodboards, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Mythology - Freeform, One Shot Collection, Requited Unrequited Love, Selkie Freddie Mercury, Selkies, Series, Sharing a Bed, Ship Week, fem!queen, fics, getting away with murder, photo album
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28994163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnironSidh/pseuds/AnironSidh
Summary: A series of ficlets and moodboards for Jimercury Week 2021, run by the wonderful freesiafields on tumblr!Day 1 (fic): A slippery accident. Freddie must wear a cast after he slips on a puddle. This goes about as well as you'd expect, of course, and Jim muses on what it's like to love a man like Freddie.Day 2 (moodboard): Getting away with Murder au moodboardDay 3 (fic): fem!queen au, blind date brianna arranges between freddie and jane hutton.Day 4 (fic): Stuck in an elevator, meet cuteDay 5: fem! queen, freddie brings jane to her brother's wedding as her fake date, their fake relationship quickly turns realDay 6: jimercury growing old together, jim brings down an old photo album and the husbands reminisce about the life they've livedDay 7: mythology au, Freddie is a selkie whose coat was stolen, and Jim gets more than he bargained for when he returns it
Relationships: Freddie Mercury & Roger Taylor, Jim Hutton/Freddie Mercury, John Deacon & Brian May & Freddie Mercury & Roger Taylor, etc
Comments: 30
Kudos: 15
Collections: JimercuryWeek2021





	1. A Slippery Accident

**Author's Note:**

  * For [freesiafields](https://archiveofourown.org/users/freesiafields/gifts).



#####  Day 1 (January 25th):

🌸 "Danger is my middle name"

🌸 Slippery accident Freddie slips, has to be in a cast which goes as well as you’d expect

🌸 Beauty and the Beast AU

In Freddie’s defense, no one had  _ told _ him that Phoebe had decided to clean the entire kitchen ahead of Joe’s Christmas dinner. He didn’t even notice the puddle on the floor until he’d landed in it, his leg bent  _ wrong _ underneath him. Delilah poked her head in and trotted right over, mewing as loudly as she could. 

“Hello, dear,” he said as he winced with pain. Delilah sniffed him for a moment, narrowed her eyes, and raced out of the room with a loud yowl. The sound faded briefly, quickly followed by heavy footsteps nearing the kitchen. 

Jim still wore his gardening garb when he arrived, seeming out of breath. 

“What on earth happened, Freddie?” he eventually said, leaning down to pull his husband to his feet. 

Freddie shrugged, grabbing onto Jim to steady himself and avoid leaning on his right leg. “I just slipped, darling. Can you-” he winced again as a wave of pain raced through him. “Just help me into my chair, alright? I think I hurt my leg a bit.”

Jim frowned for a moment, then hooked one arm under Freddie’s knees gently and  _ carried _ him into their living room and lowered him into the high-backed chair (that Freddie had bought in Japan after decreeing that it looked like a throne and he just  _ had _ to have it). 

Freddie saw the  _ look _ on his husband's face as Jim knelt by his chair. "I think you need to have that looked at, love," the Irishman suggested, earning an eye roll from Freddie. 

"I'll just sit for a while and I'll be fine," Freddie insisted. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes in an attempt to drop the conversation. 

Jim sighed. He loved Freddie, of course he did, but sometimes he wondered what exactly he'd signed up for. 

-

To no one's surprise, Freddie nearly collapsed upon waking up from his nap a few hours later, shouting in pain when he tried to put his weight on it. He insisted on trying to take another step, failed miserably, and let himself be carried to the car and driven to the hospital. Oddly enough, he didn't complain as much as Jim expected until he had to be helped into bed, scowling down at the cast covering his leg. 

"Do you have any idea how difficult it'll be to record in this bloody thing, Jim? I  _ never _ sit while I sing. A  _ cast _ , honestly," he muttered. 

Jim pulled the blanket up over the both of them, chuckling softly. "You'll live, Freddie. I think it'll be good for you to slow down a little."

Freddie pouted almost childishly. Jim leaned over to press a quick kiss to the corner of Freddie's mouth, tucking their blanket around his shoulders. “I should call Rog,” Freddie murmured sleepily. “And Miami for the… the record.”

“I’ll call later, you sleep for now.” Freddie was nearly asleep by the end of his sentence, snoring lightly a few minutes later. 

-

Just as expected, the cast didn’t go over well. Jim awoke a few hours later to find Freddie gripping a chair near the door and attempting to hobble further. He allowed Jim to take him downstairs in the wheelchair that they’d been given at hospital. 

Joe set a plate of pancakes down in front of Freddie once he’d been wheeled to the table. “I answered the phone earlier, from Jim Beach? He said he’ll call later about recording for the album and that he hopes you’re resting.” Jim glanced over at Freddie who was pointedly  _ not _ looking at him. Phoebe snorted as he walked into the kitchen with a broom and began sweeping the floor. 

“Very funny,  _ dear _ ,” Freddie shot at his back, shoveling a forkful of pancakes in his mouth after he spoke. Phoebe turned around and grinned rather cheesily. 

Joe turned at the sound of a knock at the door and sidled out of the room towards the door. 

“What the  _ fuck _ did you do to yourself, Fred?”

Freddie tried to jump up as Roger swaggered into the room with a grin, glaring at Jim until he helped him over to the blond. The drummer took one look at Freddie’s leg wrapped up in the cast and let out a laugh. “Slipped on a bloody  _ puddle _ and I’m stuck with this stupid thing. Don’t laugh at me, blondie, you’ve done stupid shit too.”

Roger shrugged. “I know. Rufus wants to sign the cast, he told me to tell you,” he said, then turned to Jim. “Think you’ll need help keeping him under control?”

“Fuck you,” Freddie retorted. 

-

Miami  _ did _ suggest waiting to record for the album, but Freddie insisted on showing up even if it meant being wheeled into the studio by Jim and sat in front of a microphone. Jim dropped a kiss on top of his head and walked out of the recording room while the band set themselves up. He leaned against the window in the booth and watched as Brian maneuvered Freddie’s microphone closer to him and handed him a pair of headphones. 

“It’s still so neat to watch them work, isn’t it?” Veronica piped up from the couch behind him. She stood next to him, watching the band through the window as Freddie wheeled himself over to Roger so he could jab the blond in the chest. 

“Yes, it is,” Jim murmured. 

Loving Freddie was a sort of a learning curve, nothing like any relationship he’d ever had before. Those men had been normal, not world famous singers with a addiction to cats and opera music, but he wouldn’t have traded this for any of those he’d been with before. Before Freddie and After Freddie would always be what divided Jim’s life, he mused. Inside the studio, Freddie glanced back and blew a kiss through the glass before turning back to the band. Inside, they’d stopped recording and were huddled in the middle of the room around the piano and the paper with the song lyrics on it. 

He’d been glad that the rest of the band and their spouses had welcomed him as one of their own as easily as they had. Maybe it had felt a little odd at first, the three women sitting with Jim during recording sessions and concerts backstage, but they had. 

Freddie seemed in better spirits after recording, at the very least, and chattered away on the car ride home about the music they’d recorded and what they had left for a full album. Jim watched and listened silently to see the happiness spreading across his face. 

This? This was worth every bit of it. 


	2. Day 2 (moodboard): Getting Away With Murder/Partners In Crime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Looking at them, no one would ever expect Jim Hutton and Freddie Mercury to be anything more than the slightly odd couple that always seems to have a dozen or so cats roaming around. Then again, they're the best in the field at making sure nobody finds out what they do after dark. They may find the bodies, but clues are easy enough to get rid of, after all.

#####  Day 2 (January 26th):

🌸 Murder without an evidence (partners in crime)

🌸 Passing their favorite childhood toy to a new generation

🌸 Life Is Strange AU

Summary: Looking at them, no one would ever expect Jim Hutton and Freddie Mercury to be anything more than the slightly odd couple that always seems to have a dozen or so cats roaming around. Then again, they're the best in the field at making sure nobody finds out what they do after dark. They may find the bodies, but clues are easy enough to get rid of, after all.


	3. Absolutely Smitten fem!Queen au (Day 3: Blind Date)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3 (fic): Brianna convinces Freddie to go on a blind date with a girl named Jane from her Biology class. Freddie's unsure after her last relationship ended in tears, but it may be worth giving a chance.  
> aka a fem!queen modern au for jimercury week because I'm thinking of writing a King! au soon and this was a good way to get used to writing them this way. Background maylor as well. Let me know what y'all think!

“I’m telling you, you’d really like her. It’s just one date, Freddie.”

Shifting the bag on her shoulder, Freddie shrugged. “And my last date went  _ so _ well, darling. Honestly, I’m fine for now,” she insisted. It might’ve been a bit stupid of her to refuse without even knowing anything about this girl, but after the last time… No. 

Brianna sped up, walking in front of her now. “I swear she’s so much nicer than Paula. Her name’s Jane, she’s in my intro to biology course-”

“That you only took to be in the same class as your girlfriend,” Freddie teased. 

Brianna’s face flushed red as it always did when anyone brought up Regina, her girlfriend and Freddie’s roommate. “Shut up,” she shot back. “Anyway, I was  _ about  _ to say that she’s Irish too, and I know how much of a sucker you are for Irish accents.” Freddie rolled her eyes at the tease, even though it was  _ true _ . Though Paula’s Irish accent had gotten her heart broken back  _ then _ , she couldn’t be fooled so easily this time. It’d been so long since she’d been on a date…

“One date, and that’s it, Brimi,” she insisted. Brianna grinned, looping their arms together to pull Freddie along as she launched into a rapid-fire description of Jane while they walked. 

She’d only  _ try _ to do this, but she wouldn’t allow her heart to be broken again. 

-

“You’re serious that she said yes?” Jane whispered so that their biology professor wouldn’t scold them for talking during lecture. 

Brianna nodded as she gathered her curly hair into a ponytail. “She did, but she’s definitely not sure. Her last relationship didn’t end very well, and we haven’t been pushing her, but I think getting out there again would be nice. I wouldn’t have told her about you if I didn’t trust you not to hurt her, got it?”

“Loud an’ clear,” she replied, giving a mock salute. “Anythin’ I should bring?”

Brianna paused for a moment as she typed a few lines of notes, then smiled. “Freesias. Freddie loves those flowers, so that might help. There’s this little cafe not far off of campus that she loves where you could take her for the date. You said you’re free Saturday, right?” Jane nodded. “I’ll send you the address for the cafe then and talk to Freddie later.”

“Works for me,” Jane replied, turning back to her notes and the lecture. 

She hadn’t been sure about this blind date when Brianna had first suggested it, but the idea was growing on her. She’d seen Freddie at a party a while back, on the arm of another girl who looked to have too tight of a grip on her, but she’d jumped at the chance to get to know her on this date. She had a little pot of freesias on her dorm room windowsill that could stand a clipping anyway. Flowers she’d grown herself would be better than those from a flower shop somewhere off campus, so maybe Freddie would like them. She hoped so, anyways. 

-

“I’ve got nothing to bloody  _ wear _ , Reg,” Freddie complained, falling back onto her bed and tightening her kimono around her body. Regina hopped off of Brianna’s lap, ignoring the whine her girlfriend made when she left, and strode over to Freddie’s overflowing closet. 

“You have plenty of clothes, judging be how often I find your shit on my side of the room,” she said, picking through the clothes. “What about that dress you just bought, the red flower one?”

Freddie frowned at the dress once Regina finally pulled it free from its hanger. It  _ was _ nice, sure, a flowing thing with flowers outlined over the entire skirt and a plain top with lace on the back. Joan, sitting by the desk texting her boyfriend Victor, tossed over a white silk scarf with a quick suggestion of tying it around the waist. 

“Are you sure it looks good for a date?” Freddie asked once the dress was on and Regina had tied the scarf around her waist in a simple bow. “Reg, maybe just my jeans and that white sweater or something, this isn’t-”

Regina shook her head, resting her hands on Freddie’s shoulders. “You look fucking  _ beautiful _ , Freddie, and if this Jane doesn’t see that, she’s an idiot. You’ll blow her away with this dress, I just know it. I can tell you’re anxious about this date, but we’ll be there in case you need to leave, alright? Brianna trusts her and I’ll be there to smack her if she hurts you.”

“Does that make me the diplomatic one here, then?” Joan asked, raising one eyebrow at Regina’s threat. “To make sure none of you get in trouble for fighting someone?”

“Exactly,” Brianna said with a grin. “It’ll be fine, Freddie. Trust me, she’s definitely excited.” 

Freddie took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, nodded once she’d opened her eyes. “Okay then, let’s go.”

-

Jane was in the middle of debating whether or not she shouldn’t have bought the strawberry pastries, and the freesias were gathering sweat in her palms when the bell above the door jingled. She glanced up, seeing Brianna’s curls first until she and the other two girls walked to the other side of the cafe, and Jane gasped. 

Calling Freddie  _ beautiful _ wouldn’t have covered it at all, her red dress fitting her like it’d been made just for her and her dark hair perfectly styled into gentle waves. Jane stumbled as she stood up to pull the other chair back. 

“H-Hey,” she managed once Freddie’d sat down, holding the bunch of freesias out towards her. “Here, for you. I, um, I grew them in my dorm and Brianna mentioned you liked ‘em, so…”

Freddie  _ blushed _ as she took the flowers, taking a long sniff with a sigh. “They’re wonderful. You didn’t have to bring them, I didn’t even think to bring anything, but thank you,” she said softly. “I believe I have a spare vase to put them in.”

“Tha’s good,” she managed, her accent coming through a bit stronger than she would’ve liked. Freddie smiled though, so it seemed alright.

“So,” Freddie said a moment later once she’d settled the flowers in an empty cup. “What are you studying? Oh, I hope that’s not a boring question, I-”

“Biology, and it’s not a boring question,” Jane interjected before Freddie could continue. “You’re not boring at all, Freddie. I can tell that already. You’re studying art, right? Brianna was talking about a project you had the other day, somethin about an advertising slogan?”

“Lacquer or something, yes,” Freddie said, laughing softly. She moved to raise her hand a moment later to cover her front teeth until Jane reached out to grab it. 

“Don’ hide your smile, it’s beautiful.”

-

Usually, people insulted her teeth, or told her to cover her smile up. Regina hadn’t, and Brianna and Joan hadn’t either, but they were in the minority there. Freddie had gotten used to covering her mouth with her hand if she laughed or smiled enough to show them, so when Jane suddenly reached out and told her that her smile was  _ beautiful _ , not that it was weird or freakish, her heart skipped a few beats. Even Paula had made snide comments about it, but Jane…

“You really think so?” she whispered. Jane seemed about to pull her hand away, eyes widening when Freddie gripped it tighter. 

“Yeah, of course I do,” Jane replied, shrugging. “It’s nice, y’know, sort of brightens everything up. Er… it’s pretty, anyway.” She seemed suddenly nervous, as if she thought her words had been too much, so Freddie squeezed her hand. 

“Thanks, darling.” Jane blushed at the endearment, and Freddie giggled. “So, the pastries?”

Jane glanced down at the plate as if just remembering they were there. “Oh… they looked nice, and I figured strawberry was a safe bet. I haven’t been here before but I wanted to have something here for you, so… strawberry pastries,” she finished rather lamely, her words rushed. 

Freddie smiled again after she took a bite, this time allowing herself to not hide it, and murmured, “I love them, dear.”

She wasn’t entirely sure if she meant the pastries, exactly, or something else. 

-

At the end of the date, Freddie stood outside with the girls a few feet ahead and her hand in Jane’s as they walked. They didn’t speak much on their way back to the dorms, but Jane found she didn’t mind much. It was a nice kind of silence, where she didn’t feel like she needed to break it, so she didn’t. 

“Well, this one’s mine,” she said upon reaching her dorm building, reaching for her key. “I, um, had a really nice time, Freddie. You have my number, so… maybe sometime soon again?”

Freddie nodded, smiling wide again. “I’d rather like that, I think,” she said, stepping closer. 

“O-Okay,” Jane managed a second before Freddie closed the distance, the kiss only lasting a moment before she pulled away with that same smile, making a surprised sort of noise when Jane pulled her back in for another much longer kiss. Freddie blinked when they separated for air, letting out a breathy laugh and leaning in to press a quick kiss to Jane’s cheek. 

“We’ll  _ definitely _ have to see each other again, especially after that, darling,” Freddie said. She squeezed Jane’s hands once more before she stepped away to follow her friends back to their dorms. 

Jane waited until they were out of sight to celebrate with a rather silly dance. She’d had the best date of her life so far with the prettiest girl in the world, and she wouldn’t trade it for anything. 


	4. Another One Bites The Dust (stuck in an elevator)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Freddie Mercury gets into an elevator after a long day of shopping (that he most definitely does deserve after a long tour), the last thing he expects is to get stuck in the elevator with a man who's right up his alley. It might not be so bad to be stuck for a little while after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one got super rushed bc I had to complete a school project too, but happy birthday to freesiafields!

Not another bag would so much as fit in his hands, much less in the car, if he didn’t leave the mall soon. Freddie reached the elevator just before the doors slid shut, managing to make it inside just in time, and leaned back against the elevator wall with a relieved sigh. 

“Quite the shoppin’ trip you’ve done, seems like,” a voice grabbed his attention. Freddie sat the bags down and glanced up, eyes widening at the man leaning on the opposite wall. 

He was  _ definitely _ Freddie’s type, wide and just a bit taller than him, dark brown hair and a neatly trimmed mustache. Freddie set his bags down, glad he’d freshened up a bit in the bathroom beforehand. 

“I’ve been traveling, so I just had to stop by and catch up on all the sal-” A sudden jolt interrupted his sentence, the elevator shuddering to a halt. “What on earth-” 

The lights flickered for a few seconds, then shut off for good. Freddie let out a rather scared noise that he instantly wished hadn’t come out, though hopefully the stranger wouldn’t think he was a coward for being scared during this, but the man walked over to sit on the floor in front of him, his soft smile barely visible in the dim emergency lights. 

“M’ name’s Jim, by the way,” he said, lifting his arm to show a little bag in his hand. “Had to get somethin’ for my cat. Haven’t had ‘im long, but I thought he could use a wee collar.”

Just as he’d said, there was indeed a tiny cat collar in the bag when Jim opened it up. “I-I have a few cats at home, actually,” Freddie managed. “Sorry, I’m just… being stuck here is making me a bit nervous. I’m Freddie, I can’t believe I nearly forgot to introduce myself.”

“Nice to meet you, Freddie,” and  _ oh _ , it wasn’t fair how his name sounded in that wonderful voice. Freddie could only be glad he was already sitting down, or else he’d be worried about losing his balance. Just his  _ name _ did that to him, he couldn’t let this man go. 

Of course, they  _ were _ stuck here until someone rescued them. 

Freddie leaned a bit closer once his nerves had dissipated a bit. “I don’t suppose we’re getting out of here anytime soon, so shall we get to know each other a bit? I’d ask you out for a coffee, but…” He gestured around them with a smirk. “That might be a bit difficult, darling.” He might’ve imagined it, but it almost seemed as if Jim blushed. Of course, it was barely light enough to see his face, so perhaps. 

“I think there’s a coffee place on the first floor somewhere, passed it on my way in,” Jim replied. “If you  _ are _ flirting wit’ me like I think you are.”

Freddie couldn’t help but grin. “Why wouldn’t I be, darling? I didn’t see  _ anyone _ while I was touring that caught my eye like  _ you _ did. I didn’t have to go to America if I knew I’d meet someone like you so close to home,” he  _ purred _ , his voice taking that silky smooth tone that usually netted him his latest target. 

“Well then, I’m not sure if I know how t’ respond to that.”

“You deserve a compliment, dear,” Freddie said, acting on a whim and reaching out for Jim’s hands. The most of a reaction he got was a startled movement, then a hint of a smile returning. 

“You said-” Jim cleared his throat then. “Somethin’ about touring? What were you touring for?”

Freddie’s eyebrows shot up. He’d been recognized a good dozen times since entering the mall, but this man didn’t even know who he was? Freddie let the thought sink in for a moment. It wasn’t  _ bad _ , per se, to be recognized wherever he went, but it got rather tiring after a while if he was being honest. 

“I’m in a band, darling,” he replied. “Queen?”

Jim seemed to think for a moment, leaned a bit closer as if to inspect Freddie’s face a bit closer, then sat back. “Most of the music I hear is in the clubs, if I’m bein’ honest. There might be a song I’d recognize. I’m sure I’ve heard the name, I just can never remember which band wrote what,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck almost nervously. 

Club music…. Freddie thought for a moment, starting to hum a familiar bassline that brought back memories of an argument over the song being too ‘disco’ for Roger’s tastes. 

“ _ Steve walks warily down the street, his brim pulled way down low, _ ” he started to sing, standing up and pulling Jim with him to dance along to the music. “ _ Ain’t no sound but the sound of his feet, machine guns ready to go. Are you ready, hey, are you ready for this, are you hanging on the edge of your seat? Out of the doorway the bullets rip, to the sound of the beat, yeah~ _ ”

Jim pulled him closer, Freddie letting out a laugh just before singing, “ _ Another one bites the dust, another one bites the dust~ _ .” He looped his arms around Jim’s neck, their bodies barely an inch apart as he finished the chorus. “ _ And another one gone and another one gone, another one bites the dust! Hey, I’m gonna get you too,”  _ he leaned in, singing, “ _ Another one bites the dust _ ~,” just before letting Jim lean in the rest of the way for a kiss that started out almost calm and quickly turned intense. Freddie let out a gasp when his back hit the elevator wall behind him, lifting his legs to wrap around Jim’s waist. 

By the time they were rescued an hour or so later, both Freddie and Jim looked significantly more ruffled than they had when they’d stepped into the elevator. Jim grabbed most of Freddie’s bags before he could, insisting on carrying them out to the car’s trunk and escorting him back inside to the little coffee shop, where they spoke for hours and got to know each other outside of the cramped elevator space. 


	5. Day 5: An Unexpected Turn Of Events (fic with header moodboard)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Freddie tells her mother that she's dating someone and promises to bring them to her brother's wedding, she finds herself in quite the sticky situation. Luckily, she's friends with Jane Hutton, a kind girl who works at the recording studio and agrees to pretend to fake a relationship for the long weekend of the wedding. The trip may reveal their true feelings, ending up being much more than either of them bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This thing could be a oneshot of its own, but I've committed to the whole weeks works being in one thing. This one got away from me, and technically I'm posting a few minutes after midnight on the day this was meant to be posted, but shhh. This one has a header moodboard I made for it as well as the fic itself. Enjoy, and let me know what y'all think in the comments!

Moodboard, images of fem!freddie and jim are my own, made in faceapp

One of Freddie’s least favorite things was her weekly lunch with Jer. It wasn't that she  _ didn’t _ love her mother, because she did, but her parents had never really understood the ‘rockstar’ thing very well. They seemed to wish she’d gotten an office job like Kareem, but her brother’s job was  _ boring _ . 

“And the dress fitting is next week, but Kareem told me that Amira needs to get it resized and she’s had fits about it, and it’s all so busy,” her mother said when Freddie tuned back in from her wandering thoughts. “Hopefully things will be  _ much _ smoother when you get married, Farrah. Speaking of which, dear…”

Freddie winced, first at her birth name and then at the question she  _ knew  _ was coming. 

Jer leaned a bit more across the table as she continued, “Are you bringing anyone to your brother’s wedding, Farrah?”

“It’s Freddie now, mama,” she corrected, trying to ignore the  _ look _ on her mother’s face, “And I…” She paused at the hopeful expression beginning on Jer’s face. She hadn’t had a serious relationship in years, especially not since King’s career had taken off and the tabloids had begun following her dating life, but somehow… for once, she wanted to give her mother some hope that her only daughter wasn’t alone anymore. “I’ve been seeing… someone, but I don’t know if she’s busy that week.”

She had to give credit to Jer, her mother didn’t really react to Freddie saying ‘she’ instead of ‘he’ anymore. “Oh, that’s wonderful, dear! Is it someone from your work?

Oh, she really hadn’t thought this out, had she? She couldn’t just ask most of her friends, and she couldn’t ask Regina because Jer already knew she and Brianna were dating, and Joan had a boyfriend. 

Of course, there was always… no. 

“Just someone, mama,” she said, mind still racing for an explanation. “If Kareem needs a name for the placemats or whatever, he can text me. It’s still new and I don’t want to get your hopes up just in case.”

Jer reached across the table with a gentle smile to hold her daughter’s hand in hers for a moment while she said, “I’m glad for you, beta. I can’t wait to meet her.”

And now that she  _ saw _ the hopeful look on her mother’s face, Freddie couldn’t possibly take her words back. She’d just have to find someone to  _ pretend _ to be her date to her brother’s wedding long enough to fool her family. 

She really was an idiot sometimes. 

-

A week later found Freddie in the studio pacing around the room, long after the rest of King had left, in an attempt to fix her situation. Kareem had called during recording to ask what her date’s name was, so now she was well and truly  _ stuck _ . 

“Oh, I didn’t know you were still here,” a surprised voice said from the doorway behind her. 

Freddie spun around to see Jane standing in the doorway, the last of the studio’s staff to leave most nights. She and Freddie usually ended up alone until one of them decided to go home, forming a sort of simple friendship. Freddie would sit and iron out whatever issue she was having with the current song and Jane would silently work through her paperwork from the office job she kept. 

“I’m afraid I’ve gotten myself in a bit of a situation, darling,” she admitted once Jane had sat on an abandoned stool. 

“Can I help somehow?” Jane asked softly, and Freddie paused. 

She wondered if this just might work, then nodded to herself. “Jane,” she began, pulling a stool up across from her. “Can I ask you for a favor?”

-

The Bulsara house was already buzzing with activity by the time they pulled up in Jane’s old car. Most of the wedding had already been planned, but the remainder would be keeping everyone busy until the day itself. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Freddie asked, nervously gripping her bag close to her body. “I can just find an excuse for-”

Jane shook her head and opened her car door. “It’s fine, Freddie. I can handle it.”

“Let’s go before I start worrying again, darling.” She stepped out of the car and grabbed her suitcase from the backseat before Jane locked the car behind them. It was fine, she could do this. They just had to pretend to be dating long enough to convince her family, who would hopefully be concentrating more on Kareem than on her, and go back to London and their separate lives. 

Freddie ignored the disappointed twinge in her gut at that particular thought. 

“Freddie, you’re here!” Her younger brother’s voice ringing out through the living room was the only warning she had before he scooped her up into a tight hug. The various relatives scattered around the house appeared from seemingly nowhere to greet her. 

“Farrah, you’re late,” Bomi’s voice cut through the almost overwhelming noise of the relatives, most of them returning to whatever they’d been doing before with only Kareem and Jane remaining. 

She rolled her eyes. “I’m Freddie now and I know I’ve told you that before, Papa,” she corrected, turning and reaching for Jane’s hand. “This is my girlfriend, Jane.”

The hesitance in her voice seemed to go unnoticed as her father glanced over at Jane for a moment and nodded. “Put your things in your old room and come back downstairs. The fitting for Amira’s bridal party is this afternoon, I hope you haven’t forgotten you’re part of it.” Bomi turned away and disappeared into the house. 

“I think he’s just on edge with the wedding,” Kareem, ever the peacemaker, tried. Freddie shrugged and walked away and up the stairs to the childhood bedroom she’d been far too happy to vacate. 

Now that she was back, and standing in it with Jane and all of their combined belongings, it seemed so much  _ smaller _ . The bed was a twin, big enough for her growing up, but now with two full grown women?  _ That _ would definitely be an issue. The dresser was empty at least and the only decorations left were a few photos of her and Kareem growing up. Nothing too embarrassing left over, but  _ still _ , it was too damn small for the two of them to stay in for the entire long weekend. 

One twin bed for the two of them over three nights.  _ Fuck _ . 

-

Jane came with for the bridesmaid fitting, figuring it would be better than just awkwardly waiting for Freddie to come back to the house. Most of the bridesmaids talked to each other in a rush of what sounded like Parsi, though Jane could barely keep up with the speed, much less the words themselves. Freddie had left to try on her dress a few minutes ago, leaving Jane sitting off to the side until she got back. 

Most of the relatives didn’t seem to know what to do with her, most of them seeming awkward about Freddie having a ‘girlfriend’ at all. It was all just pretend that would end when the wedding was over and they went home to London and yet… Jane wished it wasn’t. 

She hadn’t known what to do when the woman she’d had a crush on for a  _ while _ asked her to pretend to be her girlfriend for a wedding, other than to agree. Part of her knew nothing would come of it. Freddie was one of the most famous singers in the  _ world _ , there was no way she’d feel the same about just some studio secretary, but here Jane was anyways. 

“Jane, what do you think?” Freddie’s voice broke through her thoughts, and Jane glanced up and  _ froze _ . 

The bridesmaids dresses were all a bright shade of red, and they looked nice enough on the rest of the bride’s friends, but on Freddie… Jane barely managed to choke out a “Looks nice” through the muddle of her thoughts. It was more than nice. It clung to each and every curve on Freddie’s body, contrasting with the inky black of her wavy hair, and Jane felt like the epitome of ‘useless lesbian’ with how her brain had just  _ stopped _ working. She briefly wondered what god she’d pissed off to have to suffer through an entire wedding (and three nights in a tiny twin bed besides, her brain unhelpfully reminded her) with Freddie wearing a dress that was the very definition of temptation. 

She would’ve stood up and yanked Freddie into a kiss if they were actually dating… and that thought stopped her in her tracks. 

Amira clapped her hands, serving as the perfect distraction from the battle waging in Jane’s mind. “It looks  _ perfect _ on you! Jane, don’t you agree?”

“Y-Yeah,” she stammered. “It’s beautiful, Freddie.”

Freddie  _ blushed _ , which Jane took as a good sign. Unfortunately, she had to put the dress back on its hanger a few minutes later once the seamstress had taken a look at how it fit. She didn’t get much a chance to talk to Freddie much after that, the chaos of the wedding preparations sweeping them both away for a few hours. 

Until it was time to go to bed, that is. 

-

By the time Jane returned from the bathroom to change into her pajamas, Freddie had already gotten under the covers and as close to the wall as she could get. Jane slid in under the blankets beside her and turned on her side to face Freddie. 

“One day down, jus’ a few to go, right?” she whispered. Freddie nodded, turning to face her. 

“We just might make it, dear,” Freddie replied with a small smile. “Three more days, the wedding’s on Sunday and we can leave Monday when Kareem and Amira leave for their honeymoon.”

Jane nodded, but somehow she didn’t seem relieved. Freddie lay awake long after Jane had fallen asleep, now gently snoring beside her, and thought.

Their calm friendship had turned into a crush at some point, and Freddie wasn’t at all sure when. A part of her hoped that maybe something would happen, the impossible chance that Jane would return her feelings, but she still refused to get her hopes up. 

Freddie ignored the racing of her thoughts long enough to fall asleep eventually. 

She’d fallen asleep fitfully, but she woke up surrounded by warmth. A sort of snorting sound ended up triggering the thought that something was  _ different _ somehow. Freddie shifted in the bed, something tightening around her waist and a sleepy complaining noise coming from behind her. 

_ Jane _ . 

At some point during the night, she must have moved closer until she was practically cuddled up behind Freddie. Yet, the last thing Freddie wanted to do was move away from the contact. Maybe she could’ve woken Jane up and they would have moved apart and moved on with the day, but she didn’t quite feel like doing that. Instead, she snuggled closer to the heat source of Jane’s body, letting out a satisfied sigh once she’d settled back in. 

-

Both women were eventually woken up by the sheer  _ noise _ downstairs of the family arriving and setting into the day-before preparations. The awkwardness of waking up practically wrapped around each other lasted for a few hours, at least until it lay forgotten after being dragged into helping with various chores left before the wedding. 

Last-minute fittings, the rehearsal, and finally Amira leaving for her bachelorette party and staying with one of her bridesmaids until the wedding the next morning. There was barely time to breath, much less  _ talk _ about what had happened, and both of them fell into bed and right asleep. 

The morning of the wedding dawned bright and early. Freddie was already up and about by the time Jane opened her eyes, a brief pang of disappointment running through her. 

She hadn’t  _ minded _ waking up cuddling the morning before, but she couldn't expect anything more to happen just because the tiny bed had all but forced them to sleep so close together at night. Nothing more, she insisted to herself. 

-

Everything  _ seemed _ fine, at least up until the reception. Freddie noticed Jane’s gaze on her as she walked up the aisle with one of her brother’s friends and stood on Amira’s side until the ceremony was over. 

“Are you alright, darling?” Freddie asked quietly while her brother and new sister-in-law were busy dancing with most of the guests on the dance floor. Jane shrugged, picking at the hem of her dark blue dress. Freddie frowned and attempted to reach over for Jane’s hand. 

Jane stood up abruptly then, leaving Freddie’s hand hovering awkwardly. “I need a drink.”

Maybe she should’ve left Jane alone, she certainly seemed like she wanted to leave, but Freddie had never been one to have any level of patience. She waited a moment and followed after Jane to the drinks bar where she found her date standing alone and staring intently into her glass. 

“Did I do something wrong?” Jane’s eyes widened when Freddie cornered her by the edge of the bar where it met the wall. “You’ve been acting strange all bloody day, why?”

“It’s nothin’,” Jane insisted with a smile Freddie  _ knew _ was forced. 

What had she done? They had barely talked since the morning they’d woken up cuddling, could that have been the problem? Jane hadn’t  _ seemed _ bothered by it, but she might’ve just been hiding it for all Freddie knew. “ _ What _ is going on?”

“Aren’t you bothered by all of this, Freddie?” Jane suddenly burst out, finally looking at Freddie. “Faking this, pretendin’ to date just so your family leaves you alone even though it’s all fake. I don’t know I can take this anymore, I just…”

Freddie’s eyes widened. 

_ Oh _ .

“Take what anymore?” she murmured, stepping closer to Jane. 

Jane shook her head, hesitated, then reached out to cup Freddie’s face in her hand. “I can’t stand knowin’ that all of this isn’t real when I’ve wanted it to be real for so long,” she said in an almost strangled sounding whisper. 

“We’ve both been rather stupid, haven’t we?” Freddie couldn’t help but chuckle. “I didn’t want to ruin what we had and you’ve loved me this entire time.”

“You have?”

Freddie took yet another step closer, until there was barely an inch between them and Jane was glancing down at her lips, and brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. “Well then,” she murmured. “If we’re real girlfriends, you should kiss me, shouldn't you?”

“As you wish,” Jane murmured just before she moved her hand to the back of Freddie’s neck and gently pulled her forwards into a kiss that was all the more sweeter for how long it had taken and how intensely it had ben yearned for. 

When Jane and Freddie left the next day, they left with a relationship that was real this time and a well-deserved happiness. 


	6. Day 6: Blowing the dust off of an album and looking at picture they haven't seen in ages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim finds an old album in the house while looking for something, and he brings it to Freddie for the two of them to look at. Memories are just as bright as they used to be despite how many years ago it all was.   
> Aka, jimercury growing old together as they should have, pet loss feels for a moment, but mostly cute fluff about our favorite old husbands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This could've been titled: how can i make myself cry? but that was mostly because i projected a little at the third photo with the section about the old cats. Leave a comment if you enjoyed it and let me know what y'all think!

**Garden Lodge, London, January 2021**

He hadn’t gone looking for it, but Jim ended up bringing the old photo album back downstairs with him. It took a bit longer than it used to for him to walk back to the living room where his husband sat at his usual piano spot. Freddie didn’t even seem to notice, busy tapping out melodies and running his hand over his gray hair occasionally as he muttered something to himself. 

“Look what I found upstairs, love,” he said softly, Freddie turning with a smile. 

“Where on earth did you find that?” Freddie reached for the photo album, tracing a finger along the yellowed spine. “I can’t even remember when it’s from, darling, it’s that old.”

Jim sat down on the piano bench, muttering a complaint, and laid the album on his lap. “I was just lookin’ around upstairs and this was tucked in the old dresser. I suppose we forgot about puttin’ it together, but I thought we could look at it.”

Freddie rested his head on Jim’s shoulder with a happy sigh. “Oh, why not, darling.”

_ (Recording in the studio, Jim came with me today! -F. Photo is of Freddie Mercury standing to the right and Jim Hutton sitting next to him in a studio) _

Jim flipped the album open to the first page and smiled at the photo he found there. It was a bit blurry, but he recognized it all the same from the time he’d visited Freddie in the studio while recording, for One Vision if he remembered correctly. 

“We hadn’t been together long at that point, had we?” Jim mused, remembering his hesitance upon meeting the rest of the band and facing that much time with some of Freddie’s favorite people, hoping that they would  _ like _ him enough. They had, and by now he’d become part of the band’s family, but he still remembered how it had felt as first. 

Freddie chuckled, tracing the edge of the yellowing paper. “I’d just dragged you right into the deep end, darling. My, that was a bit of a chaotic recording. We were all a bit crazy back then, I should think, doing everything we did.”

Jim snorted and pressed a kiss to Freddie’s wrinkled temple. “You're still a bit crazy, love, you’re forgettin’ I’ve seen you nearly break a bone at every bloody concert lately.”

“I’ve been cooped up too long,” Freddie said. “Not a single concert with this virus, you know, and Brimi had to go and have a bloody heart attack. They’re telling us nothing until at least May,  _ honestly _ .”

“Ach, but I’m not complaining about havin’ you to myself for a bit longer,” Jim murmured. Freddie smiled at that, at least, so it was an improvement. 

When they’d first locked down, Freddie had been getting ready to jet around Europe for the new leg of the Rhapsody tour after the Australia concert, until it had all fallen apart for much longer than anyone could tell him. Luckily, he’d had Jim around to distract him, though his instagram stories had gotten a bit unhinged at one point

“Let’s see what else we’ve got in this bloody ancient thing,” Freddie said, reaching over to flip the page. 

( _ Our First Time seeing Garden Lodge Together, around ‘85 -Jim. Pictured: Jim Hutton standing to the left beside Freddie, who’s holding a drink and a cigarette. _ )

“Have we really lived here that long?” Freddie mused, glancing around them. “Fuck,  _ that _ makes me feel old.”

Jim chuckled. “You’re 74, love, remember?” Freddie shot him a half-hearted glare at the reminder, but Jim only smiled as he noticed every little detail of his husband’s age. Freddie always hated the reminders of how old he was getting, more so since he’d been asked about retiring by dozens of reporters, but Jim thought of every wrinkle and gray hair as proof that they’d spent their lives together, proof of everything Freddie had done in his life. 

_ (Jim came to visit me in Munich, he’s holding my darling Dorothy here -F. Pictured: Jim holding a light tabby cat and Freddie beside him looking at Dorothy, the cat) _

When Jim turned the page, Freddie let out a quiet gasp at the next picture, his expression going almost sad for a moment. “Dorothy, you old girl,” he murmured softly, tracing his finger across her photo as if petting her once again. “I miss the old cats. Don’t you remember all of their little… little quirks? Oh…”

One of the newer cats, who’d been adopted shortly after the movie had begun filming and so was affectionately named Rami for the timing and his dark fur similar to his namesake’s hair, trotted over to headbutt Freddie with a gentle purr. “He knows you’re upset, smart little lad.”

Freddie scooped up the spindly cat, who settled happily into his arms. “They always seem to know, don’t they?”

Delilah had been the last of the original cats from Jim’s early days at Garden Lodge, living until the age of 21 purely out of spite in Jim’s opinion. Eventually, they had been left with the new cats, mostly rescues and kittens of the original cats that hadn’t been fixed in time. 

The cat Rami had been found at a shelter down the block from the restaurant they’d first met the cast of Bohemian Rhapsody at. He’d even been brought to the set a few times, usually found riding around on the actor’s shoulders or being carried around by somebody, quickly dubbed the baby of the movie set

“I’m sure they’re all looking down at us,” Jim said as he reached to scratch at the cat’s head. “That, erm…. Rainbow bridge poem, remember?”

Freddie nodded as he recited, “ _ The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together… _ Of course I remember it. Brian gave me a print of it for Christmas after we lost Oscar, didn’t he? The one in our bedroom.” His voice was barely audible by the end, muffled in Rami’s fur when the cat meowed at him and headbutted his face. “Let’s… let’s see what else in in here, darling.”

Jim nodded, pressing a quick kiss to Freddie’s cheek first, and flipped the page. 

( _ Our trip to Japan, Freddie loved seeing the geishas -Jim. Pictured, from left to right: Jim, a geisha girl sitting in between, and Freddie, smiling at the camera _ )

“That’s much happier,” Freddie said, taking a deep breath and smiling. “Oh, we should go back to Japan once all this is over, dear. It’s been too long since we had a vacation to ourselves.”

Freddie seemed a little less sad now, at least, so Jim felt relieved as he nodded. “It has been too long. I’m sure you’ll have tickets the second we’re allowed, won’t you?”

“Who do you take me for?” Freddie played at being offended. Jim just laughed and kissed the hint of a smile on his husband’s face, Rami beeping at being ignored for a brief moment. Jim poked his nose to make up for it and chuckled as the happy  _ mew _ in return. 

Freddie happily pet the cat while he rambled on about what they could do on their trip, a plan Jim suspected had been cooking for months at the very least if not longer. He didn’t hear most of it, tuning it out in favor of his thoughts and watching his husband’s animated movements, but he figured it wouldn’t matter. As long as Freddie was happy, and he always was when planning an extravagant trip, that was really all that mattered. Thirty-five years, and what they had grew stronger every day. 

Jim still had the rest of his life with Freddie, and he wouldn’t trade anything to change that. 


	7. Day 7: Mythology au (selkie!freddie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Jim Hutton finds a seal coat left behind in his favorite cafe, he doesn't expect to find a selkie when he returns it to the mysterious stranger who'd lost it, and he most certainly doesn't expect what happens as a result of returning the coat.   
> Freddie is a selkie, trapped on land by Prenter, who stole his coat in an attempt to trap him there.

Almost every morning, without fail as long as he was in town that day, Jim Hutton had his breakfast at the little cafe by the seaside. It was always calm in the mornings, watching his neighbors stop by for their morning coffee in a rush or with time to spare. On the morning our story begins, Jim made his usual small talk with Roger, the barista that day, sat at his usual table, and assumed his usual position of people-watching while he drank it. 

“I said to settle down, stop trying.” He glanced over at the source of the hissing voice and rolled his eyes. Paul Prenter, town asshole and general piece of trash, sat a few tables away next to a man Jim hadn’t seen before. He was shrinking away from Prenter as if to make himself seem smaller, dark hair hanging around his hidden face. 

“I-I’m sorry, I…” the man whispered, pulling his sweater tighter around him. 

Prenter scoffed, standing up and slinging a backpack over his shoulder, and pulled the man up by his shoulder. “Let's just  _ go _ , Freddie. Can you at least do that?” he sneered. Jim clenched his fists, getting ready to stand up, but Prenter was already gone. Jim thought about following them for a moment, turning instead to the order counter. 

“Hey, Roger,” he called, quiet enough that none of the other patrons would hear him, and gestured towards Prenter’s empty table when the blond turned around. “That man sittin’ with Prenter, is he new around here or somethin’?”

Roger shrugged. “I haven’t seen him before, but Prenter seemed to be treating him like shit, if you ask me. I think Brian said something the other day about seeing someone new around, so that’s probably the same guy. Actually,” Roger said, glancing out of the window. “I think I saw him walking on the beach last night while I was closing up. He might be back tonight, if you’re curious.”

“Maybe I’ll take a walk tonight then,” Jim replied, walking back to his table. Something almost shiny caught his eyes as he walked past Prenter’s empty seat, crumpled on the ground beside the chair. Jim crouched to pick it up and brought it back to his table. It felt like a sort of fur coat, smooth gray. A seal coat… why on Earth would  _ Prenter _ have one?

For a moment, he remembered his mother’s tale about selkies, creatures with a seal coat that often became stuck on land once someone had stolen their coat, but he shook his head at the thought. The man was probably just lost, nothing more. Selkies didn’t exist. 

-

Jim waited until it was nearly dark before setting off for the beach, the coat tucked away in a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. Most of the town was asleep, Jim walking through the only noise around. He rounded the corner of the darkened cafe, taking care not to fall into the sand, and then he saw him. 

The dark-haired stranger from the cafe sat at the edge of the water, the waves flowing over his feet and back out. The ocean wind blew his dark hair about his face as Jim carefully crossed the sand towards him. 

“Erm… hello?” he called. The man jumped, whipping around to stare wide-eyed. Jim raised his hands as he slowly approached and stopped a foot or so away. “I won’t hurt you, but I found somethin’ in that cafe after you left, an’ I thought it might belong to you.” He slowly opened the messenger bag and held out the seal coat. 

The man reached out for it, running his hands over the coat with a faint smile. Now that Jim was a bit closer than he’d been that morning, he couldn’t help but notice this man. He looked…  _ ethereal _ , for lack of a better word, dark hair and wide soft eyes. He was attractive, in a way. 

“Thank you,” the man whispered, shedding his worn sweater and pulling the coat around his shoulders. Before Jim could even say ‘you’re welcome’, he’d surged forwards to grab Jim’s face and pulled him into a rather sudden kiss. Jim froze for a moment, then hesitantly held the man’s waist. The thought occurred to push him away, he didn’t know much about this man after all, but he stayed there until the man pulled away himself. 

Jim let go of his grip, stepping back. “I, erm, I can’t say I was expectin’ that,” Jim stammered. The man, who he vaguely remembered Prenter calling ‘Freddie’, pulled his coat even tighter around himself and stumbled back. “Freddie, I…”

“You don’t want me?” Freddie asked, looking down at his coat and back up. “But you gave me my seal coat back. I… I’m not trapped here anymore, you  _ saved _ me.”

“Trapped?”

Sure, he hadn’t seemed to  _ want _ to be with Prenter earlier in the cafe, but Jim was at a loss as to how exactly Freddie could be trapped without a coat. The sound of his mother’s voice reciting her favorite myth rang through his head again, but it still didn’t matter, things like bloody  _ selkies _ didn’t exist. 

Freddie shrugged. “I only came up to look at the flowers over there,” he explained, nodding at the cafe’s window boxes. “I meant to go back to the ocean when I was done, but that man, he… he stole my coat, and I cannot return without it.”

“You…  _ live _ out there?” Jim glanced out at the ocean, still unsure. Quite frankly, he was beginning to wonder if he’d hit his head at some point. 

Freddie raised an eyebrow as if saying  _ obviously _ . “Of course I do. Prenter knew all about my kind, that’s why he wouldn’t let me leave.”

“Your kind?”

“My, you certainly have a lot of questions, darling,” Freddie chuckled, then continued, “But yes, my kind. Selkies. I thought humans had stories about us. Perhaps Phoebe was lying, but he’s been up so many times, and he told me about the stories and all the beautiful things up here.”

_ Selkies _ . Jim only blinked, his mind racing. They weren’t real, there was no way those bloody bedtime myths his mother had told were  _ real…  _ and yet Freddie stood before him, living proof. 

As if reading his mind, Freddie said, “hold on, I’ll show you,” and ran into the wild waves. Jim panicked at first, convinced that he’d drown or freeze to death in the ocean’s waves, but instead a seal’s head popped up a feet feet away. The moonlight illuminated the creature well enough that Jim could recognize the markings on the seal’s body, the same exacts pattern of Freddie’s lost seal coat. It barked at him, no,  _ Freddie _ barked at him, an Jim gawked as the seal ducked back under the waves. Just as the seal had reappeared, the coat seemed to fall off, leaving Freddie standing there, holding it around his bare body. 

“Does that convince you, darling?” Freddie stepped back close to him and Jim could only be glad he was covered up by the seal coat even as his mind raced to make even a little sense of what he’d just seen. 

Jim struggled to remember what his mother’s stories had said. The skin of a seal but they could take a human form without it, they needed their skin to return as Freddie had told him, but giving them their skin back… ‘You don’t want me?’ Freddie had said, and he’d  _ kissed _ Jim upon the coat’s return… Jim couldn’t say he was  _ opposed _ to the thought, Freddie was quite attractive and Jim assumed he liked flowers just as he himself did. 

“You said…” Jim cleared his throat. “Somethin’ about not wanting you? What does that mean?”

Freddie took another step closer and looked up with an almost shy smile. “You gave me my coat back, instead of stealing it like that man did, so I may choose to stay with you as a spouse… only if you want me, I-... I can return home, but I would love to stay here.”

“With me?” Freddie nodded, and Jim hesitated for a moment. Somehow, he felt a kind of connection to this man, ever since seeing him in the cafe. The house he’d inherited from his parents had been too quiet for his liking ever since they’d passed, and maybe… maybe they could get to know each other better. “If you really want to, you’re welcome to stay with me for a bit, Freddie.”

His face brightened, and Freddie hooked his arm around Jim’s with a smile. “Well then, darling, shall we?”

And so Freddie came to live in the Hutton house, and he ended up staying, and Jim ended up falling in love with the strange selkie whose coat he’d found. Though he would sometimes leave for a short time to visit his family and friends underwater, Freddie would always return. He found a fast friend in Roger and accompanied Jim to the cafe every morning to talk with him. He was in turn introduced to Roger’s boyfriend Brian and their friend John, and settled in as one of the townspeople. Prenter left town not long after Freddie came to stay with Jim, and no one in the town missed him much. 

Freddie’s favorite thing on land, after Jim and their garden, was the cats who soon found a home with the two men. Just so he could have the cats attend, Freddie and Jim were married in the human way in their garden with their human and selkie friends both in attendance. 

For years after, the tale would be told of the Irish gardener and his selkie husband who’d been rescued and who stayed for the rest of his life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that marks the end of Jimercury week by freesiafields on tumblr! Thanks again to them for running this event, and I was glad to participate!


End file.
